Instrument for indicating the depth of water in ships



' G. B. MASSEY. Leak Alarm for Ships, &c.,

No- 17,975. Patented Aug. H, 1857 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

G. B. MASSEY, OF MOBILE, ALABAMA.

INSTRUMENT FOE INDICATING THE DEPTH OF WATER IN SHIPS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 17,975, dated August 11, 1857.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GIDEON B. MASSEY,

of the city of Mobile, county of Mobile, and

State of Alabama, have invented a new and useful Alarm Instrument forGiving Information of the Rise of Water in the Holds of Ships and otherVessels; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in whichFigure 1, is a transverse section of a ship showingthe alarm applied.Fig. 2, is a front view of the instrument with the dial removed to showthe working parts. Fig. 3, is a vertical transverse central section ofthe same. Fig. 4, is a section of the chain barrel in a plane parallelwith Fig. 1.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

The nature of my invention consists in the arrangement of partshereinafter cited, relatively to one another for united operation, toproduce a leakage alarm and register for shipsto wit, the bell arrangedon a firm part of the vessel, the spring within the barrel and thebarrel within the bell, the float chain on the spring barrel, thehammers within the bell, the pin wheel and the mechanism by which theyare operated and controlled, on the arbor of the spring barrel, and themechanism which measures the rise and fall of water alongside the signalmechanism, and so as to be actuated by the spring which sounds thealarm, and at the same time that the alarm is sounded. This arrangementbrings all the parts compactly together and there is no'liability ofderangement, the number of parts is lessened, and there is no danger ofthe bell ringing from any cause other than the rise and fall of thewater, whereas in other arrangements the bell is liable to be rung bythe motion of a vessel in a heavy sea or by any sudden jar or collision,and

will continue to ring during the rising or falling of the water in thehold.

' My arrangement registers with a single hand and can by removing anumber of the pins be made to ring an alarm as follows: 1, 2, 3, or anygiven number of sounds upon the bell to every inch of water in the holdof the vessel, whereas other arrangements can only be constructed togive an occasional sound and register by two hands, thus renderingmistakes liable.

To enable others to make and use my invention I will proceed to describeits 0011- struction and operation.

A, A, is an upright circular frame attached to a board B, and havingsecured in front of it a dial C. i

D, is a bell secured to the board B, and surrounding the back part ofthe frame E is a. hollow cylindrical barrel containing a coiled springF, and fitted to rotate upon a stationary arbor a, which is secured inthe frame A, A, so as to be incapable of rotation, one end of the springbeing secured to the arbor a, and the other to the barrel E.

G, is a chain or cord secured at one end to the barrel E, and havingattached its other end to a float H, which rests upon the bottom of thevessel when there is no water in the hold or pump well or floats uponthe surface of the water when there is any in the hold or well. Thearrangement of the spring F and chain or cord G is such that when thefloat is at the bottom, the spring is wound up like a clock spring andkept in that condition by the weight of the float H, but that as thefloat rises by reason of the increase of water in the hold or pump wellthe spring unwinds itself and turns the barrel upon the arbor a, andwinds up the chain or cord and always keeps it tight between the barreland the float; and the weight of the float must be sufficient to causethe chain or cord to wind up the spring again, as the float is allowedto descend by thenfall of the water in the hold or pump we I, I, are twohammers swinging within the bell on two pivots b, 12, secured in theframing A, A, said hammers having thin shanks elastic and having havingarms 0, 0 attached one to each.

J, is wheel fitted to rotate on the arbor a, and carrying a number ofpins 2', i.

(Z, is a ratchet wheel secured to the barrel E.

e, is a pawl attached to the wheel J, and held in contact with theratchet wheel (Z, by a spring f attached to the wheel J. The teeth ofthe ratchet wheel d, incline in such a direction that as the barrel isrotated by the spring F, when the float is caused to rise by theincreasing water in the hold or well, the wheel J, is rotated with thebarrel by the ratchet wheel and pawl and the pins 2', 2', are caused toact upon the arms 0, 0, of the hammers and make the hammers strike oneafter the other upon the bell, more or less rapidly as the water risesfaster or slower, thus giving an alarm. When the barrel turns in theopposite direction, as it does when the float descends in consequence ofthe fall of the level of the water in the hold or well, the ratchetwheel (Z, raises the pawl e, and the wheel J, does not revolve, consequently the hammers cease to operate, and the operation of the latteralso ceases when the barrel is stationary by reason of the level of thewater no longer rising.

7c, is a ratchet wheel secured to the wheel J, and g, is a pawl attachedto the frame A, A, and held in contact with the said ratchet wheel by aspring it, that is also attached to the frame A, A, the teeth of thesaid ratchet wheel being set in such a direction that the pawl stops theratchet wheel and consequently the wheel J, from rotating with thebarrel E, as the fioat descends, but is raised by the said teeth whenthe wheel J, rotates with the barrel as the float rises.

Z, is a gear secured to the barrel E, and gearing with a gear m, upon anarbor n, which is fitted to bearings in the frame A, A, and protrudesthrough the center of the dial C, the said arbor n, carrying a hand orindex 0, to point out on the dial, which is properly graduated, theexact depth or state of water in the hold, so that whether the water isrising or falling or its condition stationary or what the rate of itsrise or fall, may be known by examining the dial.

A weightto operate like a clock may be applied to the barrel as asubstitute for the spring F, and the parts of the instrument may bearranged diiferently to what I have represented in the drawing, which ismade to show the arrangement I at present con sider the most convenientand in other re spects the best.

WVhat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent isThe arrangement of the parts hereinafter cited, relatively to oneanother for united operation to produce a leakage alarm and register forshipsto wit, the bell D, ar ranged on a firm part of the vessel B, thespring F, within the barrel E, and the barrel within the bell; the floatchain G, on the spring barrel E, the hammers I I, within the bell, thepin wheel J, and the mechanism by which they are operated, andcontrolled, on the arbor of the spring barrel, and the mechanism whichmeasures the rise and fall of water, alongside the signal mechanism, andso as to be actuated by the spring which sounds the alarm, substantiallyas and for the purposes set forth.

G. "B. MASSEY.

lv itnesses:

W. TUSOH, J. F BUOKLEY.

